As the city of Newport Beach celebrates...

As the city of Newport Beach celebrates the 10th anniversary of the

Central Library, it is appropriate to express our gratitude to those

who made that achievement possible.

It was an amazing time of collaboration and cooperation, a

confluence of dedicated citizens and events, each a critical and

integral part of the process.

Foremost was the leadership of former Mayor Clarence Turner, who

initiated the support of the City Council and sustained it through

eight years to fruition; the determination of the library trustees,

including the late Charles Sword, visionary Lucille Kuehn, community

activists Karen Evarts and Jean Kiger, attorney C. Benjamin Jackson

and former school superintendent John Nicoll; the leadership of city

managers Robert Wynn and Kevin Murphy; the extraordinary fundraising

efforts of John and Elizabeth Stahr and the foundation; the Friends

of the Library; the exemplary work of the library staff in designing

the building; the $750,000 grant from the State of California; and

the gifts of thousands of donors, one from as far as sister city

Okasaki, Japan.

Congratulations to all who made this city treasure a reality.

LADONNA T. KIENITZ

Newport Beach

* LADONNA T. KIENITZ is a former city librarian.